RuPaul Joins Drag Queens' Fight Against Facebook

The social media giant is forcing users to display real names on their profiles, which isn't sitting well with the several hundred drag performers who had their accounts deactivated

This story first appeared in the Oct. 3 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine.

Facebook has found itself at the center of a bitter fight with some well-heeled foes: drag performers who are livid that the social media giant has begun enforcing a policy that requires users to display real names on their profiles.

Several hundred drag queens -- and other performers who had built Facebook profiles around their stage names -- had their accounts deactivated after they were reported for failing to employ their real identities.

Opponents of the rule now are receiving support from a formidable force: RuPaul.

"In showbiz, there's no such thing as bad publicity as long as they spell your name right," RuPaul tells THR. "But it's bad policy when Facebook strips the rights of creative individuals who have blossomed into something even more fabulous than the name their mama gave them."